Rocky Mountain Widow (Historical) (10 page)

Here it comes, she thought, her stomach too weak still to hold much more than the coffee. “You may as well tell me now.”

Jordan slipped outside and Adelaide stood to disappear into the kitchen. Whatever Joshua had to say wasn't good news. Or, perhaps what he wanted wouldn't be beneficial for her. Still, she set her chin, determined to face whatever needed to be dealt with, regardless of her ringing head and weakness.

She'd survived Ham, she'd survived the night, and nothing at this point could break her. There was nothing left to break.

He approached slowly, like a stalking cougar. “Ham's brothers spent what was left of the night in the Bluebonnet jail, but I figure they won't stay there long.”

“Then you did find them outside last night?”

“Yes. And there's more. They weren't alone.” A muscle ticked in his jaw and his big hands fisted. He lowered himself onto the ottoman, his big frame tensed and his forearms dug into his knees. Although he was perfectly still, he seemed like motion leashed. “A band of rustlers took off with your livestock.”

“Rustlers?” She closed her eyes. She hadn't even considered the question of what to do with the cattle.

She knew there were rustlers in the county, but she had been lucky so far. Their ranch had never been hit. She always figured it was because the rustlers knew Ham at least by reputation, and no one in their right mind would want to anger him. But Ham was gone, and that left her herd undefended.

“Is the whole herd gone?”

“They tried to wipe you out, but the storm made it hard for them, as far as I could tell.” Deep frowns bracketed the corners of his mouth as if he were angry. As if maybe he'd been thinking to strike a deal with her over the animals. “After I came back from leaving your brothers-in-law with the sheriff—”

“Not my brothers-in-law,” she corrected, stopping him.

A dark brow arched, whether in a question or disapproval of her outspokenness, she couldn't tell.

“I rousted a few of my brothers out of their beds and got them to come with me,” he went on to explain.

“What? In that bitter cold? That late at night?”

“I'm a rancher, I'm used to it. I did what needed to be done. I do it every day and night on my own place. We've rounded up about twenty head of strays and
penned them up in your horse corral. It's close quarters, but they'll be easier to watch and harder to stampede.”

“Twenty? The rustlers ended up with most of the herd.”

“Between five hundred to seven-fifty in market value, depending. I didn't get a real good look at what you've got. But that's not the worse part of all this.”

“The Hamiltons. They're the rustlers, aren't they?”

“I figure they're part of the gang. The trouble is, I think this means Ham was, too. With the law for sale in this county, I don't think you'll get far pursuing it.”

“You mean to let them have the cattle? That's not right.”

“I did take a look at the brands. They've been doctored, and you know what that means?”

She nodded. They weren't her cattle at all. They were stolen. And that was a hanging offense in Bluebonnet County. It explained a lot, in terms of how Ham had such good luck with his herds. “What do I do?”

“I'd normally say bring in the law and explain everything, but from what I saw last night, that would be asking Logan to throw you in jail. Sell 'em. I'm going to the auction down in Great Falls next week. I can take them for you. We'll hope I don't end up in the clink over it.”

“There's no way to return them to their rightful owners?”

“If there was, I'd have done it by now.” Joshua stood, the only stability in her view as the room began to spin. “I'll handle it, Claire. It's the least I can do, considering what went on that night.”

His rough, rich tone came with an apology. As if he mistook her sadness for losing her husband. He couldn't
know what she'd lived with. He was a man, what did he know about marriage and sacrifice? “You made Ham stop hurting me. There's no need to be sorry about that.”

“I see.” He studied her a long while, and she wondered what he thought.

It was her weakened physical state, that surely had to be it, for her head had stopped ringing and her heart began to open, as if seeking warmth and affection, as if believing there was hope in men after all. When she knew there wasn't.

Joshua Gable was a decent man. There was no getting around that fact. He had a good relationship with his family, he worked hard, and he had a respected reputation. He was a fair man and that was rare in this selfish, self-gratifying world. And made more attractive because of it.

And, she'd learned the hard way, the heart sees what it wants to, is blind to all else. So she'd do well not to put too much weight on his good qualities. “There's something I've done and I feel horrible about it. What I said when you offered to stay the night and help. I was ungracious and I'm sorry. I never expected you to stay without compensation.”

“You expect the worst from me.”

“I was wrong. I am very grateful for what you did. It was cold last night. You must have had only a few hours of sleep. And then all the supplies you brought…” She fell silent, unable to find words powerful enough to thank him without sounding as if she were worshipping him.

“I can see what your life was like here. Don't worry
about thanking me.” He fidgeted, betraying the only hint of discomfort she'd ever noticed.

So, was the respected Joshua Gable humble at heart? Or uncomfortable with the attention? She couldn't help liking him as a person, because maybe beneath that mask he wore there was genuine goodness. And that, too, was rare.

Then his capable calm was back and firmly in place. “The thing is, the Hamiltons seemed to know I was out here that night. Considering they want me dead.” He radiated cool sensible logic, not blazing anger.

“They said that?” It surprised her only because there was no reason to target Joshua. “They couldn't know about that night.”

“If you said nothing to them, then I've got some questions to ask. There's no doubt about their threats. And I'm bettin' that my hauling them to jail the way I did, didn't improve their opinions of me.”

“You're in harm's way because of me.” She'd been numb from her miscarriage and ill from it, that she hadn't taken time to consider his end of things. “What will you do? The Hamiltons know how to hold a grudge. And how to get even.”

“I figure I can handle them. But what I need to know is what side of the fence you come down on.” There was that tick in his strong granite jaw, a ripple of emotion that betrayed a hint of anger.

He was a man very much in control of his impulses. She couldn't help wondering how deep that anger went. It was a good thing she was smart enough not to trust any man again, especially one who came across so
temptingly, not that she was tempted. “Mr. Gable, I think I've made it clear. My husband's death has severed any ties between the Hamiltons and me. Those people never made me feel like family, and they are now no family of mine whatsoever.”

“They know how to put pressure on a person. They'll try to take your house and your land.”

“Let them try.” Her chin shot up. “What's troubling you?”

“I figure if your enemy is my enemy, then we'd be smart being friends.” Joshua stood, as if something important had been decided, but what, she couldn't tell. “Granny insists on staying here for a spell, until you're stronger. One of my brothers and I will rotate keeping an eye on things for you.”

“Thank you. I know it's not enough. I don't think there's a way to pay you back enough for what you've done.”

“Pay me? I'm not doing this for money, Claire. Sometimes you have to do what is right, whether it's in your best interest or not.” He turned at the door. “Someone's comin'. I best go see who it is.”

Before leaving her, he gave one curt nod, but there was kindness in the hint of a smile that broke the hard line of his mouth. The impact of it almost cracked her heart open even wider, but she managed to hold on to her common sense just in time.

“M
issy, what are you doin' up?”

Claire ignored Adelaide's question. She knew she shouldn't have crawled off the couch, not after she'd lost so much blood.

But it wasn't simply curiosity that had gotten the best of her. It was the hard, coiled knot of dread in her stomach. She had to know what trouble was coming down her road and to her front door. No matter the doctor's orders or Adelaide's wise care, she had to face the Hamiltons and whatever disaster they'd come to rain down upon her.

The pair of dark bays drawing a medium-size sleigh were miniature figures too far away to recognize. That it was only one vehicle was hopeful. As least the Hamiltons wouldn't be showing up as a group with their guns drawn and their threats. One vehicle. It was too much to hope that perhaps the coming visitor had nothing to do with the Hamiltons at all.

“I need wash water.” She limped into the kitchen,
careful not to move her left leg overmuch. Pain still lingered in her groin and thighs, and she winced when she reached too fast for the kettle.

“Put that down!” Adelaide jammed her chair back with a squeak of wood and tossed down her book. “There's no way you should be up.”

“The doctor said I could get up some if I'm better this morning. I'm better.” She plucked a folded towel from the upper shelf and tried to hide the way her arm trembled.

Adelaide stormed around the table, spry as a twenty-year-old. “You are as weak as a kitten. Look at you! You're ready to fall over. You are not well enough for whatever it is you've got a mind to do.”

“Sometimes a woman has to fight when she's down. There's no other choice.”

“What's got into you? Whatever needs to be done, Joshua can do it. And if he can't handle it, I can.” Adelaide winked, taking Claire by the forearm. “Look at you, ready to go tumblin' down at a sign of a strong wind. You need rest, missy. You fight the world when you're stronger.”

“I don't need to fight the world. Just the Hamiltons.”

“Joshua already did that.” Adelaide tugged surprisingly hard in the direction of the necessary room. “Tell you what. You come wash up. We'll get your hair brushed and plaited. Once your hair's up and you're in some fresh clothes, you'll feel better and see reason. Come.”

See reason? Claire bit her lip. Adelaide might mean well, but she didn't understand. She had strong grandsons who would stand up for her in a heartbeat. Men like Joshua who would wait in the below-zero weather for
hours on end to defend a stranger's property. What more would he do for his own grandmother? Adelaide had known hardship, but she'd never been alone. And never would be. How lucky.

But Joshua Gable was not her husband or relation. He was more stranger than friend. And whatever sense of doing what was right fueled him, it would soon be gone.

A storm of hardship was coming, and she would not have the Hamiltons thinking that she could not stand against them on her own. Because she could stand on her own two feet just fine. She didn't need Joshua Gable's charity.

She didn't need any man.

 

Joshua didn't recognize the pair of fine-stepping bays. Two figures were tucked beneath blankets on the front seat, but he couldn't make out who they were. Not until they pulled to a stop behind his vehicle and he recognized one of the town's most prominent lawyers and his wife. Annabelle Hamilton Clise.

Trouble. The feel of it brewed like a blizzard in his gut as he strolled out into the road. The horses drew to a stop in front of him, and there was no missing the irritated look on Clise's doughy face. That told Joshua everything he wanted to know. The fancy lawyer was expecting him. And was already dismissing him.

Good luck, Clise. I'm not so easy to beat.
Joshua pulled his unbuttoned jacket open enough so that the lawyer could see the double Colts holstered, one to each thigh. Silent, he stood blocking the road. Actions spoke louder than words.

“Gable.” The attorney gave a brief nod, but his handlebar mustache couldn't hide his sneer of contempt. Just as his fancy wool jacket and tailored clothes could not disguise the lesser quality of the man.

Joshua despised men like Clise. “I expected the vultures to start circling. And that you'd be leading them.”

“I oughtn't to be surprised to find you here. I suppose there's a whole crop of you ignorant country boys who think in order to come to own this land, all you must do is marry for it.”

“No worse than you city boys thinking they can get hold of this place by strong-arming a woman.”

“This is my place now.”

Joshua cocked a brow, his fingers itching for the smooth walnut handle of the .45s. Clise's place? “Claire Hamilton doesn't seem to think so. I agree with her.”

“Go herd your sheep, Gable, and leave the legal matters to those educated enough to understand them.”

“I understand plenty, Clise. And I know a thief when I see one.” Some folks just thought themselves so fine, when they were anything but. What kind of man would steal land from a widow? “Ham is barely cold in his grave and you people are already flocking like vultures. First the brothers and now you.”

“Get out of my way, or I will run you down.”

“Go ahead and try.”

Dark anger narrowed the lawyer's features, making him look like the crook he was. This only fueled Joshua's certainty more. His right hand covered the cool grips of his revolvers, ready to draw. One thing Joshua
had learned a long time ago. Fancy city boys were no match for a hardworking country boy.

Clise snapped the thick reins on his bays' rumps with an audible whack, but the horses did not leap forward. They stayed in place, sidestepping in their traces.

“Be a good boy, Clise, and turn around. Save yourself some trouble and head back to town.”

Joshua watched the effect of his words. They hit like a snowball's icy punch right in the middle of Clise's face. Bull's-eye.

Clise puffed up inside his expensive clothes and reached for the whip sitting primly in its socket. “This is no game. I'll come back with the sheriff if I have to. Toss the lot of you in the county jail. Would serve you right for trying to swindle a grieving widow.”

“It takes one to know one,” Joshua said.

He heard the soft whisper of footsteps on the snow behind him a few seconds before Annabelle Clise's eyes hardened beneath her black hat. Her chin shot up, and Joshua knew the woman wasn't reacting to his brother coming to add his weight to the argument. Jordan's bold, careless gait could never be mistaken for the featherlight pad coming closer.

It was a woman, but not Granny. She wasn't one to tread softly. But could it be Claire? It had to be. He could feel her approach like a winter's dawn, and it troubled him that she pulled at his concentration. He'd never had that problem before, and it was as if all his senses were straining to pick up a hint of her—the rustle of her skirts, the rose scent of her hair and her skin.

He forced his attention to Clise, refusing to let his
focus stray from the man who held a whip and probably hid a firearm, although it was as if Joshua's eyes ached for the sight of her.

Probably because he was worried about her health, he told himself, because that was the only reason he wanted to get a look at her. Because she wasn't well and he was used to taking care of everyone around him. It was what he did. It seemed like all he would ever do. It wasn't a personal thing. It wasn't
attraction.

Now you're lying to yourself, Gable.

“Thad Clise, put down your whip.” She rewarded him with the sound of her voice in no way he'd ever heard before. A formidable alto came, not sharp or shrill, but muted and certain.

This
was Claire Hamilton? Sure enough, there she was, at the edge of his vision, wrapped in a huge wool shawl over a flannel calico dress. Her hair was brushed and lustrous as it tumbled down her back, stirred by the wind.

His hand nearly slid off the Colt's grip. He'd seen the quiet, mousy wife in town in the company of her husband, but she'd been background, for Joshua wasn't in the habit of noticing other men's wives. He remembered her battered and in pain. The pale widow at a snowy graveside.

But not
this
woman.

This woman met Clise's eyes with a challenge. “Thad, you heard me. Put down that whip, turn your horses around and get off my property.”

“All right!” Clise slid the whip back into its socket and held up his hands, the reins having fallen to the dashboard, as if to prove he meant no harm. “This is
family business, Claire. Send Gable on his way, this is none of his concern. You and I need to go over Ham's paperwork. There are documents you must sign.”

What paperwork did Ham have with him? The question troubled her as she fought to keep her knees from wobbling with weakness. She knew with a woman's instinct, along with the gleam of greed in Annabelle's hard black eyes, that Thad wasn't here for her best interests. “As far as I know, Ham hated you. He would not have had legal dealings with you.”

“No, but he did trust me to make sure you were taken care of in the event of his death.” Thad projected concern now, his voice dipping down like that of a tender patriarch. “We all want what's best for you now, when you must be ill with grief. Look at you, my dear. Trembling and ashen. Should I send a rider for the doctor?”

“No, a doctor won't be needed.” She disliked his pretense. Thad Clise had never been concerned about her in the three years he'd looked down his regal nose at her.

He's a wolf in sheep's clothing, come for his own gain, but what?
Whatever it was, she knew he was sly enough to get what he wanted if she wasn't careful. Perhaps he thought himself so fine with his education and expensive horses and sleigh and clothes. Next to Joshua, he seemed even more false. A shallow imitation of what a man should be.

She couldn't help the way she naturally turned toward Joshua. He stood warrior-strong at her side, his gaze unbroken as he stared hard at Thad, as if waiting for his next move. How could she not be grateful for Joshua, who not only stood up for her, but also at her side.

He could have been a legend, like the heroes inked on the front of her beloved dime novels, and the breadth of his shoulders and the way he stood like justice personified, why, it tempted a woman to believe, beyond common sense and experience and hard lessons learned.

She was fortified to know that a man like Joshua was on her side. At least that's the way she explained the rush of warmth building in her chest.

Appreciation, and nothing more.

There was no sense letting Thad have the upper hand, so she made sure her voice was condescending and she looked him dead in the eye. “Give me the papers.”

“These are legal documents, honey.” Thad's soothing tone rang false. “You're a simple country girl. That's why I'm here. To explain everything to you, so you can understand.”

Did Thad really think she would be that easily misled? Or fooled by the fact that this was only the second attempt by the Hamiltons to get what they thought was theirs. This land. “Get off my property.”

“Technically, it's not your property.”

“It's not yours.”

Joshua stepped forward, a towering figure of granite. Formidable. “Clise. Hand over the papers.”

“But I—”

“Or go.” Joshua drew one of his revolvers. “It's your choice.”

Thad's grimace was more like a warning. “I wouldn't start moving my livestock over yet, Gable. She's not worth what you think.”

“She's worth more than a quarter section of rocky, high-country foothills.
Where are the papers?
”

The controlled boom of command startled her. In that moment, his handsome rugged face turned dark and threatening, like a storm cloud churning in the sky. Clise blanched and, although he looked down on both her and Joshua with derision, he reached into his breast pocket and withdrew a thick fold of long, legal-looking papers.

What business could Ham have had with Thad? Claire shivered as the blood chilled in her veins. Was it possible the house and land wouldn't go to her? What if Clise was right, that this was his property after all?

“Claire?” Joshua was calling her. “Here.”

He thrust the folded papers her way, not turning from the lawyer who, she now realized, had a repeating rifle tucked beside him on the seat. Between him and his wife. Joshua did not seem intimidated, no, not in the slightest. He seemed to swell up with more fearless power.

She'd never known a finer man. She took the paperwork, freeing up his hand in case he needed his other gun.

“Time to go, Clise.” Joshua caught hold of the lead mare's bridle and steadily pulled her in a tight circle, drawing the second horse who was harnessed to her and the sleigh along with him.

An amazingly efficient way to get rid of unwanted company. Claire heard the sharp buzz of Thad's words, low and muffled, and then only silence. She felt the change in the air and looked over her shoulder. There on the hillside above, stood a tall, powerful man with his hands on the handles of his holstered revolvers,
shoulders wide, feet braced, his silence an undeniable warning.

Thad must have decided not to tangle with the Gable brothers because the mares took off at a gallop and the sleigh disappeared down the slope of the hill. Thad was leaving without getting his way. Without threats or a scene or worse.

He'll be back.
That single thought shot like ice down her spine.

“I'll make sure he leaves.” Joshua stayed where he was, gun ready to fire, as alert as a soldier on point. “You might want to head on back to the house. Unless you want me to carry you back.”

The thought of his arms around her one more time, to have her cheek resting against the hard plane of his chest…why, the memory lingered with her and she could not purge it from her mind. She knew exactly how unyielding his upper chest would feel and how safe she'd been in his arms.